Megan Smolenyak Tells It Like It Is!...

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (yes, that is her name), is one of those well-known names in the genealogy-world. Self-described as a “genealogy adventurer” she’s a genealogist having worked on many celebrity family trees, is a regular guest presenter at genealogy events, worked on multiple genealogy TV shows and is a author of a number of books and numerous articles. All in all, she’s loves finding dead people. While reading her latest Honouring Our Ancestors newsletter she included a picture that I just HAD to share with  you, because this quote has now become my all-time-new-favourite quote.  Why? Well, simply because it is plainly true! Like I said, she tells it like it is! Awesome,...

All I Want For Christmas Is A New Surname...

Dear Santa: Don’t bring me new dishes, I don’t need a new kind of game. Genealogists have peculiar wishes For Christmas I just want a surname. A new washing machine would be great, But it’s not the desire of my life. I’ve just found an ancestor’s birth date; What I need now is the name of his wife. My heart doesn’t yearn for a ring That would put a real diamond to shame. What I want is a much cheaper thing; Please give me Mary’s last name. To see my heart singing with joy, Don’t bring me a read leather suitcase, Bring me a genealogist’s toy; a surname with dates and a place. – Author unknown – Seen in the Illinois State Genealogy Society newsletter...

Favourite Family Tree Quotes...

Are you like me, and find that more often than not quotes or sayings in birthday/christmas/special occasion cards are nicer that what you can come up?  While you don’t generally find ‘family tree’ themed cards i the shops, there’s still a great bunch of quotes, and I wanted to share some of my favourite Family Tree Quotes  with you. Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family; whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one! – Jane Howard Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards. – Unknown Our most treasured family heirlooms are our sweet family memories. – Unknown Like branches on a tree, our lives may grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one. – Anonymous We are as one with our ancestors and children. – Rosita Worl Tlingit Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors. – Ralph Waldo Emerson Friends come and go, but relatives tend to accumulate. – Unknown When you search for ancestors, you find great friends! – Unknown Other things change us, but we start and end with the family. – Anthony Brandt Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future. – Gail Lumet Buckley Some family trees have beautiful leaves, and some have just a bunch of nuts. Remember, it is the nuts that make the tree worth shaking. – Author Unknown Generations pass like leaves fall from our family tree. Each season new life blossoms and grows benefiting from the strength and experience of those who went before. – Heidi Swapp If you don’t recount your family history, it will be lost. Honour your own stories and...